Córdoba

Day 108 – 4 months after arriving in Argentina, finally a Tango Show

Our hostel in Córdoba wasn’t hard to miss as we wearily walked from our night bus!  Formerly two houses converted into one big hostel it’s been brightly decorated inside and out (Hostel Che Salguero bills itself as an ‘Art Hostel’ (link)).

 
The front of Hostel Che Salguero.

Our wander around town included a few highlights, for example a church with a missing steeple (Parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús de los Capuchinos whose steeple was omitted on purpose to symbolise human imperfection) and Cripta Jesuítica (built in the early 18th century, buried and forgotten when the Jesuits were expelled in 1829 and rediscovered underneath one of Córdoba’s main thoroughfares by Telecom in 1989 whilst they were laying a cable!).

 
Parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús de los Capuchinos.

Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús, a 350 year old church with ‘a cedar roof in the form of a ship’s hull’!

 
Cripta Jesuítica.

That afternoon we headed for the municipal pool in an attempt to beat the heat, only to wander around lost for half an hour before finding out that the pool had shut for the summer (prematurely in our opinion!).  When the weather cooled a bit I had another crack at going for a run, this time (not the day after a wine tour) I didn’t feel too bad.

This evening we decided to capitalise on our last opportunity to see an Argentine Tango Show.  When we arrived at the venue it turned out the show didn’t start until 11:30pm and that the set dinner was a bit overpriced.  So we reserved a spot for the show and headed out find dinner elsewhere.  The first spot we sat down at was a funky courtyard full of carefully selected junk like old sewing machines, lamps and agricultural equipment.  The menu wasn’t that appealing but they did have an ice lemon drink which was delicious and quickly consumed.

Erin in the funky bar.

Me eagerly anticipating the frozen lemons.

So we deferred to our ‘Cloney Planet’ (as a Polish girl we met in Púcon called it) and headed for one of their ‘our picks’.  La Nieta ‘e La Pancha is on a multi levelled wooden deck overlooking the street below, a bit reminiscent of Hummingbird in Melbourne.  Service was slow, but my meal was very tasty, Pork on a Pea and Ham Mash!

Back at the Tango show we ordered a Sangria (incorrectly as in turned out, because what we got was white not red!) and settled down for the show.   We were surprised to learn that Tango Shows are as much about singing as they are about dancing, but we weren’t disappointed as the couple singing were quite talented, especially the bloke.  Toward the end of the show the performers acknowledged their guests from around Córdoba, Argentina and the Globe.  Most of the patrons seemed to be Argentinean, a good sign we thought.

 
Our talented Tango Singer.

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Day 109 – Touring the markets of NW Argentina day 1

In the morning we overcame our fear of museums and headed to Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Emilio Caraffa.  We were surprised to find ourselves pretty much the only people there, despite the ridiculously cheap A$1 entrance fee.  Some of the exhibitions weren’t so great, like the one belonging to the guy obsessed with dots and squares, but others were really good, like the field of warrior statues made from scrap wood and metal, and the huge reel of paper going round the room with intermingling patterns (link?).

The exterior of the fine art museum.

In the evening  before catching our night bus to Salta we headed to the artisans market where Erin picked up a snazzy wood inlay ring (to match my wedding ring) and a purple wallet to replace the one that was stolen.